The Fourth Time's the Charm
by turbomun
Summary: Steven pays a visit to Centipeedle. More than once, in fact.


The first time Steven went to visit Centipeedle, not much had changed.

He was sure that she wasn't lonely with her crew around her – he hoped she wasn't, anyway – but there didn't seem to be much harm in going to see her when he could teleport there in no time at all. In fact, the trip he took into town to buy a bag of chips took longer than the journey to the faraway spaceship.

He tromped through the vegetation towards the derelict ruin, and at first, the only sounds to hear where his feet squishing in the long grass and the crinkling plastic bag in his hand. Despite himself, he felt a little doubtful as he peered into the ship's entrance. "Uh, hello?" he called. "Hey, you guys, it's me! You're still in here, right…?"

All his trepidation vanished when he saw three insectile heads pop out of the darkness. Two simply stared at him – but the third almost immediately gave a cheerful screech, bounding out to nuzzle against him as joyous shivers ran down her segments.

Steven laughed, running a hand down her hair. "Nice to see you too! I'm sure you're having fun with your friends and everything, but I thought maybe you guys would be bored of eating leaves or bugs or…" Did Centipeedles eat bugs? Was that technically cannibalism? Best not to pursue that train of thought too far. "…whatever…so I brought you some chips!"

She screeched in an elated way that left no ambiguity as to her thoughts on the matter, her little stick legs pawing first at him, then at the bag of chips. Grinning, he tore it open and threw her a fistful, and she munched on the crisps contentedly.

The other two gems were a bit more wary of him, but seeing their captain so willingly eating Steven's food, they came forward to see if he might offer some to them. And of course he did. Before he knew it, all three of the Centipeedles were clamoring for chips and affection, winding around him and butting at his head and shoulders affectionately.

"Aww, I love you guys, too!" crooned Steven, stroking each one in turn.

They gurgled and gabbed and clicked to each other in a way that seemed very much like language, and he was at least glad that they could speak and be understood. He would have found it endlessly frustrating if no one in the world could tell what he was saying.

"So, do you guys like it here?" he inquired. "Are you happy?"

Centipeedle – she was his Centipeedle, he could tell that straight away, from the way she still held herself like a leader – chattered in a rather positive way, and he took that as a yes.

"That's good," he replied. "Hey, if you guys want, I can come visit you again when I have the chance! And bring more chips! That'd be fun, right?"

Centipeedle gnashed her mandibles eagerly, and the other two soon joined in, though he wasn't sure if they really liked him that much already or if they were just extremely fond of the chips.

He hung out a while longer with them, taught them how to carry the tune of the Chaps jingle in a screechy chorus, then realized that he really should be going and bid them goodbye without too much regret. He always seemed to have a lot to deal with these days, but at least he knew that his monster pals were just a warp pad away, any time he had a few minutes for them.

…

The second time Steven went to visit Centipeedle, things got a lot more interesting. As he'd promised, he'd brought some chips for the bug buddies – an extra-large bag of Original Chaps, but also a couple of additional flavors: Barbecue and Cheddar Jalapeño. Maybe they wouldn't like their chips too fancy, but if they didn't, they always had the plain ones to fall back on.

Just like before, he called out to them to announce his presence, and the crew gems skittered out to meet him immediately. Centipeedle herself was last, and when she came, she was walking with an uneven, loping gait. His heart twinged, and he wondered if she'd gotten hurt in some way that caused her to limp…but once she was out in the light, he realized that her weird stride wasn't a limp at all.

It was because three of her bug legs had been transformed into fleshy, humanoid arms.

He nearly dropped the chip bags in his shock. "Centi!" he yelled, gaping at her from behind the armload of shiny packaging. "What's going on?!"

She chattered an answer at him, but of course it was incomprehensible. However, as he noted with relief after a moment of stunned confusion, she wasn't making particularly frightened or painful noises. And the crew clearly wasn't worried about her – they were more concerned with scrabbling at him, pining for the chips.

"If I'd known that this was gonna happen, I would have brought my crayons!" groaned Steven. "Okay, guys, I'll give you your chips. But then you gotta try and explain to me what's going on!"

After offering up the new flavors to them (the barbecue chips were a big hit, while only Centipeedle really liked the jalapeño ones) he settled into a sitting position, the corrupted gems munching noisily all around him. Centipeedle was grabbing the chips with one of her properly formed hands, sometimes scattering them to the others, usually just stuffing them into her own mouth. He almost got the sense that she was showing off, enjoying her partly-recovered body while she could.

"So, uh…when exactly did this happen?" he asked her. She made a frustrated, garbled noise at him. On second thought, it was probably best not to ask questions in a way where she wouldn't be able to answer him. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Okay then, we'll stick with yes-or-no questions. Did this happen a while ago?"

A sharp shake of the head was her reply.

"Just today, then?"

Centipeedle nodded. She lifted one of her hands and held her fingers a small distance apart, indicating nonverbally that she had been like this for a short time. Hmmm…but then, why wasn't she acting like it was a big deal? The probable answer occurred to him quickly.

"Centipeedle…has this happened other times since my last visit?"

She nodded vigorously, emitting a small screech in her excitement at getting her message across.

Steven sat back on his heels, astonished. "You're telling me that you keep, like…healing and then going back to normal? Like, parts of your body will get better like this, then revert?"

Two of her remaining insect legs came up and scraped at the air ecstatically. A definite yes – but that didn't lessen his surprise in the slightest. The Gems had been all pessimistic about his healing powers working on corrupted gems, so in a way it hadn't been completely unexpected when Centipeedle reverted, but what was he supposed to think about _this_?

Centipeedle lowered herself to the ground, the single eyeball in her mouth gazing into his face expectantly. He snapped out of his wonderings with a small frown. "Um…did you want some more chips?"

She clicked her mandibles at him impatiently.

"Oh, sorry!" He gave his head a quick shake, flustered under the onslaught of new mysteries. "If you're waiting for me to explain why this is happening or what it means, I don't think I can. It all seems really weird to me, too. But!" he added quickly. "I'll ask the Gems when I go back home! Maybe they'll – "

Steven cut himself off abruptly. A weak glow had started sputtering in Centipeedle's gem, spreading down her segmented length in tiny bursts, like flickers of electricity. In seconds, she had settled on the ground more evenly, her mismatched arms once again reduced to pointy little legs.

It must have been pretty hard to look disappointed without a face, but she managed it very well, and so heartbreakingly that he immediately reached forward to run his fingers through her hair. "Aww, don't be upset!" he told her. "You said that it keeps on coming and going like this, so I bet it'll come again! And in the meantime, I'll talk to the Gems and see if they have any ideas about what's going on. This could be a good thing!"

She butted her head against his cheek gently, but he could still sense the shame coming off of her in vibrations, like she was convinced that she'd completely failed at something. He smiled reassuringly at her, and soon enough, her crew members had joined in the attempt to cheer her up (by jumping on her and offering her potato chips, of course).

He stayed a little while longer to make sure that she was okay, but excused himself earlier than he'd originally intended to. He really wanted to run this bizarre turn of events by Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Before he left, though, he promised to bring more jalapeño chips next time.

…

"Dude!" declared Amethyst, after he'd finished his explanation. "You should have told me that you were going to visit Centipeedle! I wanna hang out with her, too!"

Steven smiled somberly. "That's nice, Amethyst. I bet she'd be happy to hear that. But…what do you think about what happened?"

Amethyst shrugged, beginning to tap her foot in contemplation. Beside her, Garnet and Pearl exchanged a glance. "So Centipeedle has been regaining some aspects of her form for short periods of time, then reverting again?" Pearl clarified.

"That's what she told me," confirmed Steven. "I mean, she didn't _tell_ me, but you get the point."

"This is very interesting," she said, pressing her lips together. "We know so little about corrupted gems or how to heal them, so there's really no precedent for this. What do you think, Garnet?"

"Clearly, Steven's kiss has some residual effects," stated Garnet. "But there's no telling how far those effects might go."

He scuffed the sole of his sandal on the floor, first staring down at his feet, then letting his gaze flit up to Garnet hopefully. "Can you see what will happen to her?"

"I can see anything and everything happening to her," said Garnet. "What really happens could be anything at all. But Steven, remember that you got farther with healing her than even your mother did. Maybe there's more you can do that none of us know about yet."

Steven bobbed his head, eyes expanding in proportion to his thoughts. He liked that idea – the idea that maybe his attempt to fix Centipeedle hadn't been a total bust after all. Maybe she just needed some time. It took more than a kiss to heal damage from the diamonds, but maybe, just maybe, he had more than just a kiss on his side…

…

His third visit to Centipeedle was distinctly disappointing. He went to the crashed ship bearing not only four new flavors of chips, but also Amethyst, who managed to start up a game where she shapeshifted into a ball and the 'peedles kicked her around. It was fun – and she was constantly laughing, claiming that their pointy little feet tickled – but Steven's gaze kept straying over to his Centipeedle, noticing that she looked just the same as her crew, that no flickers of change overtook her during his stay.

When the game was over and they stopped for a snack break, he and Amethyst managed to figure out from various gurgles and head-shakes that Centipeedle hadn't had any more moments of recovery in several days at least. That was disheartening, and it dashed most of the hopes that Garnet had supplied him with.

"You don't have to feel bad, Ste-man!" Amethyst insisted, slugging his shoulder lightly. "After all, if it wasn't for you, Centipeedle wouldn't be living here with her buds. Compared to being bubbled, I think she's got a pretty good thing going!"

Centipeedle screeched her agreement, and Steven had to smile.

…

And then there was his fourth visit to Centipeedle, which was really something special.

He'd spent the days since his last visit contemplating the whole situation, including Pearl's uncertainty, Garnet's suggestion of a better future, and Amethyst's reminder that things were already pretty good the way they were right now. All of that had finally given him some solid ideas about how to look at Centipeedle's constant progression and regression, and he thought he knew just what to say to her when he saw her again.

The trip started like any other – walking through the jungle with an armload of Chaps bags – but before he had even reached the entrance of the ship, the two crew 'peedles came bolting out, skittering over to him. They jumped all over him like a couple of overexcited dogs, shrieking and clicking delightedly.

"Woah!" Steven blinked down at them, trying his best to stay standing under the onslaught of chitinous legs. "Hey, guys, what's going on? Are you just really hungry or what?"

But the 'peedles weren't focused on the chips at all. Instead, they gripped at his clothes with their mandibles, dragging him forward towards the ship. When he didn't start moving immediately, they whined at him, and suddenly he was wondering if they had really been happy at all. Was something wrong – had something happened to – ?!

Before he could make his legs work again, something stepped out of the ship, a figure that regarded him proudly with its hands placed on his hips.

" _Centipeedle?!"_ he gasped.

His first thought was that she looked as good as she did when he'd first tried to use his healing spit on her. Then took a closer look and saw that, no, she looked _even better!_ Her eye was no longer stuck in her throat, the size of her mandibles and thorax had decreased since last time, and most noticeably, her face was the dark-reddish color of her flesh rather than sharing the lime green tone of her gem.

"Look at you!" he exclaimed, rushing forward to yank her into a hug. She hugged him back, her arms feeling gloriously firm and real and _normal_ around him, and he pulled back only enough to beam up at her. She grinned as best she could with her still-deformed mouth and made a series of sounds at him.

"You look great, Centipeedle!" gushed Steven. "Although…I guess your voice is still messed up." She nodded apologetically, saying something else that wasn't quite a sentence; while still garbled, there was a rhythmic tone to it now that mimicked the patterns of speech. "It sounds better, though! And who knows, at this rate, maybe you'll be able to talk soon!"

She gurgled excitedly at the prospect, clasping her hands in front of her chest. The other 'peedles darted back and forth between them, releasing small cries that sounded like celebratory cheers for their captain.

Centipeedle took a little bow that made him giggle, and then she emitted a laughter-like sound as well, and that just made his spirits soar even higher. He was thrilled that she was making progress and even more thrilled that it was making her so happy. Still, as she watched her crew dancing around her, her smile slipped perceptibly.

Steven blinked. "What's wrong? I thought you were enjoying this!"

She nodded, lifting up her hands to shrug…and then staring down at them like they might morph back into insect legs at any minute.

"Oh, you're worried about reverting again, aren't you?"

Another nod.

He squeezed her shoulder lightly, offering her an amiable smile. "I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. You see, I was thinking about what's going on with you, and it reminded me of something…of how I got my gem powers. In fact, I'm _still_ getting them, and they come and go a little every day. One day I'll be able to do something, and the next I'll feel completely useless."

Centipeedle tilted her head, curious as to where he was going with this.

"I wonder if maybe that's how you feel – like you're just sliding backwards," said Steven. "You know, like you're doing good, but then it turns out to be all for nothing?"

Her eye slid down to the ground, which pretty much communicated everything that there was to know.

"But you don't _have_ to feel that way!" proclaimed Steven triumphantly. "Because you're not just going backwards! It's more like…taking two steps forward and one step back. Sure, you're gonna get where you're going a little slower than normal, but you'll still get there! I mean, look at how good you're doing right now!"

She blinked, lifting her gaze…and then began to smile again. Before too long, she was bobbing her head in agreement to his statement, and her crew was also chattering encouragement at her.

"And," he added, "even if you don't get completely better, it's gonna be okay. Because I'll always be your friend, no matter what, and someday I'm gonna figure out a way to heal you once and for all!"

Without warning, she reached out and pulled him into her embrace again, squeezing him gratefully. Beyond satisfied with this reaction, he petted her hair as he always did, causing her to thrum with happiness…and there was another noise mixed up in there, too. One that almost, but not quite, sounded like "Thank you."

They pulled apart when they heard a deafening series of crackles, which resulted from the crew 'peedles pouncing on the forgotten chip bags that Steven had dropped in his excitement. They screeched at him, reminding him that they needed affection too, and he chuckled as he headed over to appease them. Centipeedle helped out, tearing open a couple of the bags and scattering the treats inside…while also taking a few handfuls for herself.

A few moments later, she pointed at her crew and gave Steven a questioning look.

"Yeah, what about them?" he said.

She pointed at them again, then to her eye, then to his mouth.

He stiffened as he took her meaning. "You want me to…try healing them, too?"

An affirmative gurgle, followed by her clapping her hands a couple of times.

Steven watched the 'peedles snarfing down their chips obliviously, wondering if his healing spit would simply fizzle out immediately, or if they'd have to go through a whole process like Centipeedle was right now, or if maybe, just maybe, his powers might actually work. And if they didn't? Well, it wasn't the end of the world. The 'peedle trio would still have each other…and they'd have him, too.

He reached out for Centipeedle's hand, smiling as he gave his verdict. "Okay, sure. There's no harm in trying, right?"

Trying had gotten him a lot so far.


End file.
